The Stray Cats’ Lee Rocker and his band are headed to the SFA campus to perform hits like “Stray Cat Strut” and “Rock This Town,” plus lots of other songs he performed post-Stray Cats with music legends from Ringo Starr to The Rolling Stones. The show is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, in Turner Auditorium.
Presented by the SFA College of Fine Arts, the 2019-20 University Series season brings another versatile and exciting lineup of touring shows that range from musical theatre and dance to superstar gospel music and the world’s foremost children’s chorus. Rocker’s classic rock concert is up next in the series.
“What a thrill it was to realize that a charter member of the one-and-only Stray Cats was available to perform at SFA,” said Scott Shattuck, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and director of the series. “The band, whose sound fuses the roots-rock of Carl Perkins and Bill Haley with the wild punk of the ’80s, recently got back together for a reunion tour, and on this solo tour Lee Rocker continues to play their biggest hits in versions that are as raucous as they are authentic.”
Rocker made his mark singing, playing, standing on, spinning and rocking his giant upright bass as a founding (and current) member, along with Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom, of the Grammy-nominated rockabilly group the Stray Cats, which sold more than 10 million albums and garnered 23 gold- and platinum-certified records worldwide. Rocker and his band are headed to Nacogdoches to perform Stray Cats hits like “Sexy and Seventeen,” “Stray Cat Strut” and “Rock This Town,” plus many other rock-era songs he has performed post-Stray Cats with music legends from Ringo Starr and George Harrison to John Fogerty and The Rolling Stones. The performance is sponsored in part by Lehmann Eye Center.
Prior to the SFA performance, Dr. J.D. Salas, associate professor in the SFA School of Music and a professional jazz-blues bassist, will present an informative talk at 7 p.m. in Griffith Gallery. The gallery is located across the hall from Turner Auditorium, which is inside the Griffith Fine Arts Building, 2222 Alumni Drive. The audience is invited back to the gallery for a post-performance reception to meet the performers and recognize the corporate sponsor.
Single event ticket prices for the University Series are $30 for adults, $24 for seniors, $15 for SFA faculty and staff and $12 for non-SFA students/youth. Tickets for SFA students are $3.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit finearts.sfasu.edu, stop by the Box Office in Room 211 of the Griffith Fine Arts Building, or call (936) 468-6407 or (888) 240-ARTS.
Other upcoming University Series events include the beloved holiday story of Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” on Dec. 10; the powerhouse Argentinian dancing of Che Malambo on March 3; and a boisterous celebration of the Harlem Renaissance in the musical “Ain’t Misbehavin'” on April 16.
Two special Encore Events will feature the angelic-voiced musicians of the Vienna Boys Choir on Nov. 21 and the bluegrass Southern gospel of The Isaacs on Jan. 24. Encore Event tickets are $45 for Section A seating; $36 for Section B seating; and $27 for Section C seating. Discounts are available for seniors, students, children and SFA faculty and staff members.
